It`s Time To Roll The Credits

Reagan Wins Applause In Final Role As Peacemaker

June 05, 1988|By George de Lama, The Tribune`s White House correspondent.

LONDON — For President Reagan, last week`s Moscow summit should prove a tough act to follow.

Reagan left Moscow satisfied that his calls for increased personal freedom in the Soviet Union and his encouragement of Kremlin leader Mikhail Gorbachev`s political reforms played well at home and abroad.

Everywhere he went in Moscow, Reagan received an affectionate welcome and a warm reaction to his message. Ordinary Soviets appeared to appreciate seeing this most anticommunist of presidents strolling with their leader through Red Square.

Even though no major diplomatic breakthroughs emerged from Moscow, Reagan received a hero`s welcome here in Britain as he stopped off to report on his talks with Gorbachev and offer an optimistic assessment of what may lie ahead in U.S.-Soviet relations.

Back home, Americans have long shown they like it when their presidents sit down at the bargaining table with Soviet leaders, and they breathe a little easier when such meetings hint at more progress to come.

But with the summit behind him, even top White House aides admit there is little left for Reagan to do now but count the days as his presidency winds down to its conclusion.

``We think the summit was a success, but it probably won`t have much effect on the rest of his presidency,`` one senior White House official said. ``His political career is over.``

Later this month Reagan will reappear briefly on the world stage for one last performance as elder statesman when leaders of the seven industralized nations hold their annual economic summit meeting in Toronto.

And the President will be visible later this year when he campaigns for Vice President George Bush`s election to the White House and more Republicans in Congress.

In some ways, Bush may stand to gain as much as Reagan from the Moscow summit and the gradual improvement in U.S.-Soviet relations, White House aides contend.

``Politically, the President has given Bush something strong to run on, if he can take advantage of it,`` said a top White House official.

``The President has shown that Republicans can deal with the Soviet Union and make relations more stable. That`s a pretty popular thing with the electorate, and it takes away an issue the Democrats used to have. It should help Republicans this fall.``

But regardless of the summit`s effect on Bush`s campaign, Reagan will gradually move to the sidelines as the presidential race intensifies and public attention turns to the battle to determine his successor, aides say.

In the short run, before both political parties hold their nominating conventions this summer, there is little on Reagan`s own political horizon that is likely to hold his interest, aides acknowledge.

Awaiting the President back in Washington are a number of lingering problems that have combined to undermine his stature and cloud his last days in the White House.

They range from his failure to oust Panamanian leader Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega to the continued presence in the administration of Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese to the ridicule about First Lady Nancy Reagan`s reliance on astrology.

Reagan`s Central America policy is in shambles and his legislative battles are largely behind him. After vetoing a popular trade bill passed with the help of both the Republicans and the Democrats, he faces long odds against seeing Congress enact another one more to his liking.

Yet little of this seems to matter much to White House aides. One top aide dismissed the controversies that have enveloped Reagan in his last year in office as ``passing flies`` that will soon be forgotten.

Between now and the November election, aides say, Reagan`s main goal is to maintain the economy on an even footing in the hope it will help Bush beat Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis, the likely Democratic presidential nominee.

But even this caretaker role, however important, is not likely to keep the spotlight on the President, his aides acknowledge.

``You hate to use the term lame duck, but it`s all over now,`` said another senior aide. ``By July 1st, it`ll be, `Let`s head out to the ranch, Nancy.` ``

It is not much of an exaggeration. The President plans to spend much of July and August at his California mountain ranch. He will make a brief appearance at the Republican National Convention in New Orleans in August, then return to the ranch before becoming more involved in the campaign in the fall.

It is not an ambitious agenda for Reagan`s last seven months in office, but aides caution that it may be too early to count him out entirely.

Even though prospects are dim for concluding a historic strategic arms treaty with the Soviets before the end of the year, Reagan and his negotiators still hold out hope.

A fifth summit with Gorbachev to sign such a treaty would surely propel Reagan back onto center stage and end his presidency on a dramatic note.

Then, too, there is one other possible milestone that may still await the President before he rides off the American political scene.

White House aides are reluctant to say so, but some admit privately they are blocking off a few days of Reagan`s schedule this fall for one last presidential trip abroad that could top even his journey to the Evil Empire for sheer political theater.

It may sound far-fetched.

But don`t be surprised, some aides say, if you see Reagan and Gorbachev standing together again this fall in Oslo to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.